In the Biz: Developer to turn Mare back into The Metro

A longtime local developer is heading back to the site where he spun tunes in the '70s -- but this time he's acting as manager.

Scott Morgan, of Morgan Builders near Saratoga Lake, said he has plans with business partner Fred Sharifipour to return 17 Maple Ave. to its former state as The Metro.

The business is currently listed for sale ($300,000) at loopnet.com and Morgan says the pair plans to buy it from Peter Paquet.

The multi-venue music house -- which on an August night can put out enough amp to be heard throughout a five-block radius -- has a history of being made over and over again, as a dance club, pub, bar and restaurant.

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Most recently, the nightclub/restaurant Mare ran in conjunction with Twilight Grille, the one-time burger joint operated by Casey and Alex Herrera.

The Grille opened and closed over the course of about two months this summer. Mare itself appeared to have closed in the last few weeks.

Previously, it was Luna Lounge.

In its next materialization, the establishment will be simply, in Morgan's words, "less of a restaurant, more of a pub."

Look out for a new menu, live bands and themed entertainment nights: open-mic Wednesdays, Skidmore Thursdays and Monday night football.

Morgan expects an Oct. 1 opening; lunch starts at 11 a.m. and the party is on Thursday through Saturday nights.

For more information, call 330-4996.

Smoke and Fire lights up Caroline Street

A Caroline Street mainstay has transformed into a slightly different version of itself.

What was Manifest Station for 10 years at 42 Caroline is now Smoke and Fire, owned by Theresa Sheffer of Saratoga Springs.

Sheffer had managed Manifest Station for three years and took it over from its former owner, her sister, Charity Cannon, for its reopening in early September. Sheffer runs the shop with her boyfriend, Loren Mahar, in addition to being a mother of three.

The store is mostly empty at the moment, save for a small collection of pipes and a large hookah displayed in the window. Sheffer plans a grand opening of Smoke and Fire in October and is working on stocking the shelves with tobacco products, rolling papers, incense and other accessories.

Local artwork and photography will be on display and a back room is expected to be transformed into a glass-blowing studio, where local glass-blowers will create products for the store, Sheffer said.

Shawn Dowd and Rory Wilson have turned their lunch crowd into their dinner crowd by opening a second pizzeria in Ballston Spa.

D'Andrea's Pizza is leasing the old Domino's location at 223 Milton Ave., just past the fire house at the corner of Ford Street, in addition to its location at 33 Caroline St.

Dowd said a large slice of his Spa City lunch crowd works in the city but lives in Ballston Spa, so the demand for a second restaurant there was already in place.

"We've been looking for a second location," said Dowd, who plans to run the Ballston Spa restaurant while Wilson stays in Saratoga Springs, where D'Andrea's has had a following for 15 years.

Customers can expect the same menu, the same specials and same free delivery. One change, however, is the 15 or so new faces who have joined the staff behind the counter and on the delivery route.

"They all seemed to be pretty excited -- the ones that came from Saratoga," Dowd said of his customers. After the Ballston Spa restaurant opened Tuesday, business started picking up late last week, Dowd added.

For more information, go to www.dandreaspizza.com, or call 584-3632 (Saratoga Springs) or 309-3353 (Ballston Spa).

This entry originally appeared as a post in business reporter Mareesa Nicosia's blog, In the Biz. For more business items, visit the blog at inthebizsaratoga.blogspot.com.